Improving the Dendro-GR Apparent Horizon Finder for Binary Black Hole Mergers

The physical properties of black holes—such as their mass and spin angular momentum—can be measured in numerical simulations from their apparent horizons. DENDRO-GR is a computational framework for numerical relativity simulations that uses wavelet refinement. We recently improved the apparent horizon finder in DENDRO-GR by incorporating a simplified method for calculating spin angular momentum using the method proposed by Lovelace et al. (2015). This method simplifies the calculation of the angular momentum, improving both the accuracy and efficiency of calculating black hole properties in binary merger simulations. These properties are critical for characterizing black holes as well as interpreting gravitational wave data from merger events. We will present preliminary results using the improved apparent horizon solver in binary mergers with DENDRO-GR.